Artificial sking mat



Feb. 9, 196G J BRUNEL 2,924,455

ARTIFICIAL SKIING MAT Filed Dec. 7 1956 lo pl; il 1 A OO O o00oooo l v O O O O O O o o o o o o o o o o o o o IR OOO o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o0 United States Parem) ARTIFICIAL SKIING Jacques A. Brunl,lleacon, -N.Y.

-Application December 7,1956,=Sefi1o3827;031

2 Claims. (Cl.272565) This invention rlaites to'ah artificial slfiingat. It is the principal object*ofthez:preseiit invention to skierdownwardly thereover. A lt is another object of the invention to provide arskiing mat Which will conform to the contour of the ground or supporting surface yet ,provide at the same time hardupstanding projections adapted to enter the central ,groove the ski and that are sospacd tht simili 'r'ows of projections are within the confines of the ski edges so that the ski is also supported on the ends of projections against lateral tilting and wherein the supporting web fabric or base and the hard projections may flex upon being supported upon a soft straw bed or the like whereby the ski may be Well retained against lateral pressure and at the same time cause the projections to enter the ski groove.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a sking mat having hard projections running throughout the length of the mat but wherein transverselyextending spacings are provided longitudinally of the mat to allow the skier to ascend the mat by side stepping with the skis in the transverselyextending spaces.

Other objects of the inventon are to provide a sking mat having the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, easy to apply to the ground surface, light in weight, portable, of pleasing appearance, will withstand weather conditions, is non-injurious to the skiers, has long life, and is effective and efficient in use.

For other objects, and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection With the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view of the sking mat and the supporting straw, with a ski supported thereover so that a row of projections are aligned with the groove of the ski and the ski weighted upon adjacent rows of projections at the opposite sides thereof,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the ski and mat,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the mat showing the transverselyextending spacings with the skis therein illustrating thereby the manner in which the sking mat may be ascended by side stepping with the skis, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modified sking mat construction employing elongated rigid hard projections rounded on their upper ends to enter the ski groove and joined by an integral bottom web or base portion of only slight flexibilty to allow only slight deflection for the accommodation of the control projections within the groove.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, represents a mass of straw which is thrown over the ground surface and upon which a sking mat indicated generally at 11 is placed. This mat is made of a netting 12 on which are rigidly formed and secured rounded hard pro jectibns 13 adapted to enter central groove 14 of a ski -;.pr.ovide a sking mat which isso constructed that control of the skis may be maintained throughout the descent of 2,924,455 atented Feb. 9, 1 960 "aidprovi defthereby a triple row support "for the s'ki at fa ltimes. Sincethe web or mat 12 is flexible th e'pijec tions at the opposite sides of the groove will be ;depressed asillustratd:d in Fig. l at least an amount correspodiiig 'spa:etl'apart less than one half the Width of the ski sotht theski at all time's'spans three rows of projections. Aski about three inches in Width. The ski s accordingly :lieltljagtistltral displacement by the projections which ronew the groove andthe steadying lateral support of the ltetiiatelyarranged with respect to each other to give ttiore'effective's port 'for the The row's'o'f projections rieed not be fully continuous 'thi0gh6t"th length of the ingt but may provide for tins'v'e rsely' extendin'g spacings 16 lngitudinally spaced "therealong s"'s'hown in Fig. 3 whereby the unders'r'face of the ski"may enga'ge reas of the mat base and Where there are no projections so as to allow the skis 15 to be supported on the mat and the skier by side stepping motion allowed to ascend the mat to the elevated areas thereon.

The projections 13 are preferably half spherical shape form and made of any type of flexible material such as: canvas or similar fabric.

In forming this particular mat, a mold is provided having a plurality of depressions in the top surface thereof. The base netting 12 is extended over the mold surface and thereafter a cold setting plastic mass is passed into the depressions through the netting and allowed to accumulate on the netting sufficiently to provide when set a rigid connection With the netting material and its threads embedded in the projection material.

The netting is sufiiciently pliable and flexible so the aligned projections can be maintained in the groove. The netting is also sufiiciently rigid to prevent its expansion or the separation of the projections from the ski. With the upper ends of the projections being rounded and of harder material than the skis the skis Will pass freely over them. The skis will run over a point on the surface of the rounded projection so that there is only line contact of the ski with the projection In Fig. 4, there is shown a slightly modified construction of the invention in which a molded form of web and projections is used. The web and the projections become a substantially rigid integral mass with the projections hard and the web yielding only sufficiently to allow the row of projections to enter the groove. This mass is indicated generally at 20 and has a web 21 and projections 22. The bottom of the web can be rested upon a yieldable strip 23 of compressble material such as sponge rubber sheet, straw mass, or loose yieldable meshed particles. At no time do the projections yield sulficiently to bend from the web base. The end surfaces of the projections maintain their contact with the ski and the ski surfaces slide in aligned contact over the ends of the projections.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a sking mat which can be placed over an inclined surface and over which the skier and skis may pass with equal agility as he may pass through a snow covered sking slope.

It should also be apparent that there has been provdqj a skiing mat construction, which is simple, inexpensive to b manufacture, light in weight, durable, portable, and eflc tive in use.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is clairned is:

l. An artificial skiing mat conpristg a pliable web base and hard iand non-depressible projections rigidlyse cured to and projecting upwardly from the pliable web base, said projections being arranged in rows, one row adapted to enter the central groove of a ski and adjacent rows spaced laterally from the one row on the opposite sides thereof less than half the Width of the ski to provide supports for the sides of the ski while the ski is tiaversing the projectons of one row aligned With the ski groove, said rows of projectons being spaced from each other so that at least three rows are always in contact with the bottom surface of the ski as to its lateral dmension, the individual projections of the respective adjacent rows being staggered and in alternate arrangement with one another, and transversely-extending spacings providing gaps in the rows of projections and suflicently wide to allow a ski to be placed transversely thereover free of the projections and being longitudinally spaced from one another to permt the skier to straddle the spacings with the skis by side stepping to ascend the ski sl0pe.

. 4 2. An artificial skiing mat comprsng a pliable web base and hard and non-depressible projections rigidly se cured to and projecting u;{wardly from the pliable web base, said projections being arranged in rows, one row adapted to enter the central groove of a ski and adjacent rows spaced laterally from the one row on the opposite sides thereof less than half the Width of the ski to provide supports for the sides of the ski while the ski is traversng the projectons of one row aligned with the ski groove, said rows of projections being spaced from each other so that at leastthree rows are always in contact with the bottom surface of theski as to its lateral dimension,

and said web base and said projections being integrally molded to one another with the web being substantiatly self-supporting With the web being depressible only by virtue of the flexibility of the pliable web mass.

ReferencesCited the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,174,716 Bethell Oct. 3, 1939 2,291,545 Ganz et al July 28, 1942 2,555,078 Gaylor May 29, 1951 b 2,558,759 Johnson July 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 611,436 Germany Mar. 27, 1935 

